Asian Civil Litigants in the New Zealand Senior Courts: Potential Barriers to Dispute Settlement and Proposed Recommendations

This project examines the truth of, reasons for, and solutions to the anecdotal observation that there is a disproportionate number of Asian litigants in our civil courts with a comparatively lower rate of dispute resolution.

About the project

There is an anecdotal perception in the legal profession that (a) there is an increasing number of Asian litigants involved in civil disputes in New Zealand and (b) disputes involving Asian litigants more regularly proceed to trial or further on appeal rather than being resolved outside of court. If true, such cases arguably unnecessarily burden an already strained civil justice system, causing delays for all litigants. Similar observations have been made in Australia. However, no research has been undertaken on the issue either in New Zealand or abroad.

This project seeks to fill that gap by exploring the following questions. Is there empirical evidence to support the above anecdotal observations? If so, what are the reasons for these trends? What can the judiciary and legal profession do to mitigate these trends while ensuring equal access to justice for all litigants? The project aims to help the courts and legal profession to better understand and adapt to the changing ethnic and cultural makeup of civil litigants in New Zealand. It also aims to assist Asian litigants participate in the civil justice system more effectively, including via alternative dispute resolution.

Grant amount

$49,100 for work in 2025–2027

About the project co-leads

Mai Chen (LLB(Hons) (Otago) LLM (Harvard) CMinstD, HonLLD(Otago) is one of NZ’s top Barristers, and is President of NZ Asian Lawyers. She formerly sat on the Bank of New Zealand Board, the NZ Securities Commission, was adjunct professor at both the Business and Law Schools at the University of Auckland.

Yvonne Mortimer-Wang is a barrister at Britomart Chambers specialising in commercial and criminal law. She is the Joint Chair of the New Zealand Asian Lawyers Litigation Committee and the New Zealand Bar Association Advocacy Committee. She is fluent in Mandarin, often acts for Chinese parties, and therefore well-placed to navigate the questions posed by this project.

Contact

Yvonne Mortimer-Wang & Mai Chen, Project co-leads

yvonne@ymw.co.nz | mai.chen@maichen.nz